One rod for both tight line nymphing AND streamers
- Thread starter Kado
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I have a Hydrogen 11' 2wt spey rod I really enjoy using for streamers on the Yak. Would this give me enough 'sensitivity' to effectively use the same size flies for nymphing I would use a 4 wt euro rod for? I'm not sure how easily I could switch from using it as a streamer rod to a nymphing rod on the water..: )
I'm not asking that this euro/streamer rod be perfect at both. I feel confident with my abilities to swing flies if I can get even a 40 foot cast out there....but contact nymphing....I would have no idea if I was not getting the results due to ability or equipment. As I understand it, this seems to be the one type of fly fishing where the rod means the most. The idea of being more proactive with the fly rather than just trying to get a drag free drift and watching an indicator is what seems appealing to me....even more than simply catching more fish.
I'm not asking that this euro/streamer rod be perfect at both. I feel confident with my abilities to swing flies if I can get even a 40 foot cast out there....but contact nymphing....I would have no idea if I was not getting the results due to ability or equipment. As I understand it, this seems to be the one type of fly fishing where the rod means the most. The idea of being more proactive with the fly rather than just trying to get a drag free drift and watching an indicator is what seems appealing to me....even more than simply catching more fish.
Any rod will work, but you'll likely get pretty tired over the course of a day with that. I played around with my 8' Steffen a couple of weeks ago and while it worked, it didn't work nearly as well. Plus today's actual "euro" rods are designed to be lighter, stiff butts, and flexible & sensitive tips to better suit the style of fishing they're designed for.
I think it would work. Euro is really, for me, a visual thing. Get your fly/flies in the zone and wait for your line/sighter to pause or move in a way it shouldn’t. I find that if I wait to feel it, even with dedicated rods, I miss a lot of eats. You can euro nymph with a lot of things. My 7'6" 3wt has done some nymphing in tight quarters, for example, and many folks do it with 9' 5wts-m when starting out.
It may be heavy, as @clarkman suggests. If so, just hold your elbow at your side instead of doing the high-arm thing. Part of why I use a mono rig is to minimize sag, and it would help compensate for any height/distance lost when holding your elbow at your side.
If you haven't found it already, troutbitten.com is a great website for shortening the learning curve and cutting through the fluff. Dom fishes streamers, nymphs, dries, etc, with his setups.
I have been thinking about a new "do it all" rod for a few months now that would do these things in this range, and I'm stuck.
My issues are I can't really present a streamer with my euro rod in a way other than just a heavily weighted nymph. I normally czech or polish rig it with nymphs and focus on just this technique when I have the 10' 3wt carbon xl. I don't care to fish it with a 4wt line, always use a euro line. It's also just not an appropriate rod for fish over 13-14" in strong water. I do like to fish this rod.
To me fishing streamers is a lot like fishing wets, and a shorter, heavier rod, with a shorter leader, is better, like a 8' 6wt.
I find, maybe because I've been doing it so long, it's efficient for me to tightline with a standard rod. But I like 9' here. 6wt's droop bad when nymphing, 5's not much better. For me a 4wt line can fish like the euro rig sag wise. Right now I fish a 9' 4wt Recon as this crossover size.
I don't really know what to recommend, just some observations I'll continue to read along.
My issues are I can't really present a streamer with my euro rod in a way other than just a heavily weighted nymph. I normally czech or polish rig it with nymphs and focus on just this technique when I have the 10' 3wt carbon xl. I don't care to fish it with a 4wt line, always use a euro line. It's also just not an appropriate rod for fish over 13-14" in strong water. I do like to fish this rod.
To me fishing streamers is a lot like fishing wets, and a shorter, heavier rod, with a shorter leader, is better, like a 8' 6wt.
I find, maybe because I've been doing it so long, it's efficient for me to tightline with a standard rod. But I like 9' here. 6wt's droop bad when nymphing, 5's not much better. For me a 4wt line can fish like the euro rig sag wise. Right now I fish a 9' 4wt Recon as this crossover size.
I don't really know what to recommend, just some observations I'll continue to read along.
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Tom, don't you have the Steffen 8' 5/6? that rod would be perfect for the streamer fishing you describe, especially for your waters. I too am always searching for a great all rounder that can do multiple things very well. Haven't found it yet. Some, like my broken Strike did multiple things good, just nothing great.
This is where 'Old man Jim" would've cut through all my anxiety about getting the 'wrong' rod and told me to stop f#%king around and just go fishing!
I was just at the Orvis store, and they supposedly have the perfect euro rod : ). They did mention the Recon 4 wt as a possibility for what I want to do.
I was just at the Orvis store, and they supposedly have the perfect euro rod : ). They did mention the Recon 4 wt as a possibility for what I want to do.
Yes I do, and it is. I usually fish streamers or braces of wets, across and down, with it . I like a longer rod for nymph fishing upstream of my position.
I got mine used from Gila Trout on the other site some time ago and I'm glad I did. Price seems like a bargin now.
I made a post @mcswny I believe asked about a couple years ago where I had a size 8? stimulator up top, a soft hackle or something in the middle, and a size 6 conehead marabou muddler on point thinking it was a bit much, but I find I can fish that setup with the Recon just fine to 40'. I'd say that muddler is the limit for comfortable casting to 50'. I wouldn't swing bigger junk with it. For tightline work I often run 11-14' of leader on the 4wt line. I like the hydros line better than the pro line for general work.
Cavet: Right now if I got another new rod it would be some brand of 10' 4wt most likely. Or a nice 8'9" 5wt. or.........well I've been stuck. I have stuff and am not buying right now.
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A 10-11ft 4wt will do what you want, at the expense of tight line nymphing with lighter flies. A moderately heavy #14 will probably be the lightest single fly rig that you will be able to cast, with any kind of accuracy. A 3wt gets you into #18.
That said, I've taken my 10ft 3wt to the Yak twice and never felt underpowered. If you only fish streamers on a euro rod, with a fly line, you're missing out on one of the most enjoyable ways to fish streamers; using a mono rig. With my 3wt and a mono rig, I am able to cast ridiculously heavy flies to about 40ft, because there is no fly line weight involved. I would probably need a 7wt to cast such flies, with a fly line. Once the flies are in the water, the level of control you get is amazing.
That said, I've taken my 10ft 3wt to the Yak twice and never felt underpowered. If you only fish streamers on a euro rod, with a fly line, you're missing out on one of the most enjoyable ways to fish streamers; using a mono rig. With my 3wt and a mono rig, I am able to cast ridiculously heavy flies to about 40ft, because there is no fly line weight involved. I would probably need a 7wt to cast such flies, with a fly line. Once the flies are in the water, the level of control you get is amazing.
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T&T and Diamondback make some "6wt" euro rods, for steelhead. I believe they have the butt of a 7-8wt, with a very soft tip.
pretty sure OP is talking about troutcentric contact nymphing rods...I was with my reply. But, congrats, you're right.
